Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment:

What’s the Latest?Leslie Hulvershorn, MDAssistant Professor of Psychiatry

Chief, Adolescent Dual Diagnosis Clinic, Riley Hospital for Children

Deputy Medical Director, Division of Mental Health and Addiction

Zachary Adams, Ph.D., HSPPAssistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry

Director of Training, Adol. Dual Diagnosis Clinic, Riley Hospital for Children

Disclosures/Acknowledgements

• Hulvershorn

– Indiana IFSSA: Division of Mental Health and Addictions

– NIDA

– NARSAD, KTGF, IU Health

• Adams

– NIDA

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how to diagnose adolescents with substance use disorders.

2. Understand which evidence based models have been developed for adolescents.

3. Explain how treatment can be delivered via telemedicine.

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

Impact of Substance Use Disorders

drugabuse.gov

Could we have seen this coming?

Consequences and correlates

In 2000, youths ages 12 to 17 who reported past-year alcohol use (19.6%)

were more than twice as likely as youths who did not (8.6%) to be at

risk for suicide during this time period.

Girls ages 12 to 16 who are current drinkers are four times more likely than

their nondrinking peers to suffer from depression.

Among adolescents who drink alcohol, 38% to 62% report having had

problems related to their drinking, such as interference with work,

emotional and psychological health problems, the development of

tolerance, and the inability to reduce the frequency and quantity of use.

In 2006, 1.4 million youth ages 12 to 17 needed treatment for an alcohol

problem. Of this group, only 101,000 of them received any treatment at

a specialty facility, leaving an estimated 1.3 million youths who needed

but did not receive treatment. (< 8% in treatment)

Of all children under age 14 killed in vehicle crashes in 2006, 23% were

killed in alcohol-related crashes.

Cannabis use is associated with earlier and worse psychosis in a subset of

people.

Drugs and the adolescent brainCortical brain region activations on a working memory task in

adolescents with heavy marijuana use vs controls (Jager et al., JAACAP,

June 2010).

Drugs & Alcohol

• Of people who begin drinking before age 14, 47% became dependent at some point, compared with 9% of those who began drinking at age 21 or older.

McQueeny et al., 2009

Brain development altered in alcohol-abusing teens Reduced prefrontal white and

gray matter in adolescent-onset alcohol-use disorder (De Bellis et al., 2005)

White matter development impaired in teen binge drinkers (McQueeny et al., 2009)

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

Warning Signs

• Any prescription or other drug seeking behavior.

• Contact with drug using peers.

• Unsupervised time.

• Need to medicate every symptom (fatigue, anxiety).

• Use of any one drug, alcohol or nicotine.

• Distress at inability to obtain substances.

• Family History of substance use disorders.

How are substance use disorders different in adolescents than adults?

• Less chronic, less refractory

• Fewer withdrawal symptoms

• Can be as severely affected

• Fewer judicial/community resources

• More oversight from authorities (parents, school)

• A greater variety of drugs, use impacted more by availability

DSM-5

• Substance Intoxication

• Substance Withdrawal

• Substance-Induced: Psychotic Disorder, Depressive Disorder, etc.

• Substance Use Disorder: (2/11 over 12 months) Problematic pattern of use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress

• New: Caffeine, Tobacco (not nicotine), gambling

How to Diagnose?

• Diagnostic Evaluations (2-3 hours)– Standardized Measures and Evaluation for SUDs

• Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders an Schizophrenia (KSADS); Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI); etc.

• Timeline Follow Back for Drug Use (Sobell & Sobell, 1992)

• Urine Drug Screens

– …and Mental Health Comorbidities• KSADS, CIDI, CDISC, etc.

• High risk sexual behaviors

• Psychiatric symptom ratings: MASC, CDRS, ADHD-RS

• Multiple respondents when possible

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

Epidemiology

– Nearly 50% of American youth used an illicit drug by the time of high school graduation.

– 7.6% of youth aged 12 to 17 years meet criteria at some point for substance dependence

Source: MTF,NSDUH

Consumption and Consequences of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs in Indiana: 2015

• ALCOHOL: 33% of high school students used and 20% engaged in binge drinking in the past 30 days

• TOBACCO: 9% of 12-17 year olds currently use– e-cigarettes on the rise (2012: 4%2014: 16%)

• MARIJUANA: 20% of h.s. students currently use

• COCAINE: 5.6% of h.s. students have tried

• HEROIN: 2.8% of h.s. students have tried

• METHAMPHETAMINE: 4% of h.s. students have tried

• RX DRUGS: 5% of 12-17 year olds have misused pain relievers in the past year

Source: IN SEOW, CDC, SAMHSA, Gassman et al., 2015

Gateway Drugs?

•Alcohol

• Tobacco

•Marijuana

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Problems in Indiana 2015

• Cannabis is not dangerous?

• Synthetic cannabinoids

• Prescription pills: opiates and benzodiazepines

• Heroin

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

Risk Factors

• Early use

• Genetics: 80% of variance explained

• Externalizing disorders: ADHD, CD, ODD

• Internalizing disorders: depression, anxiety (O’Neil et al., Clin Psychol Rev, 2011)

• Environmental moderators: peer group (norms, use), childhood stressors, availability of drugs, antisocial activities

• “Neurobehavioral Disinhibition”

Comorbidities (80-90%)

• ADHD, ODD, CD

• Depressive Disorders

• Anxiety Disorders

• Psychotic Disorders (less common)

Why should we care about adolescent substance misuse?

• Those who began drinking or using drugs early in life are more likely to develop substance use disorders

• The adolescent brain is more sensitive to toxicity from drugs and alcohol: cognitive impairments as well as psychiatric

• Adolescence is a crucial developmental period with necessary progress through milestones. Substance use derails this progress

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

What can we do in our clinical practice?

More Background

• Results of multiple studies that have examined the screening practices of healthcare providers indicate rates far below recommended levels (Marcell et al, 2002; Vadlamudi et al, 2008)

• Many studies that have examined these inadequate screening practices have identified providers’ attitudes and beliefs as two significant and influential factors (Marcell et al, 2002; Vadlamudi et al, 2008; Lock et al, 2002)

Screening

Typically accomplished through semi-structured interview or questionnaire

• Interview– HEADSS(S)

– GAPS: Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services

• Questionnaires– CRAFFT: Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble

– POSIT: Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teachers

– AUDIT: Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test

– CAGE-A: Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye Opener

– S2BI: Gate questions, follow-up

– BSTAD: adaptation of NIAAA questions, self and friends’ use

Source: Cohen, Reif, Knight, Latimer; Levy; Kelly

Screening – S2BI

Source: Levy et al., 2014, JAMA Pediatrics;C2BI Toolkit

• Promoted by NIDA

Screening

S2BI Toolkit

Screening: CRAFFT

Source: Knight 1999

OTHER SCREENERS

• Bright Futures

– Part of Screening, Assessment and Intervention System

– American Academy of Pediatrics

– Tailored screeners for younger, middle and older adolescents

– We are currently testing a combined version

• GAIN Short Screener

– Part of the Global Appraisal of Individual Need system

– Short screener is 2 pages in length

– GAIN-Q

– GAIN-I

– Collateral Questionnaire

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

Motivational Interviewing

“A collaborative, person-centered form of guiding to elicit and strengthen motivation for change.” – Miller & Rollnick, 2009

• Applicable with adolescents and/or caregivers

• Method or style, not a school or theory

• Assume most adolescents are not ready for change at first

Motivational Interviewing Techniques for Adolescents

• Be supportive of their need for autonomy

• Collaborative: build a partnership, confidential

• Avoid righting reflex: correction/advice giving/data

• Roll with resistance

• Express empathy

• Develop discrepancy: evoke “change talk”

• Support self-efficacy: goal setting, positive focus

http://www.drugabuse.gov/family-checkup

Brief Education and Advice

• Q: What advice can I give? A: The safest option is to NOT use substances, so you can recommend this option to all of your patients.

• Provide medically accurate, developmentally appropriate education to youth and families

teens.drugabuse.gov

Outline

1) The impact of substance use disorders

2) Substance diagnoses in teens

3) Epidemiology of adolescent substance use

4) Risk factors & comorbidities

5) Screening & intervention

6) Brief interventions for any provider (MI)

7) Treatment models

Existing Models

Source: Sterling et al., 2010, JAACAP; Suarez et al., 2012, Am J Comm Psych

• Separate treatment programs for substance use problems, mental health, and other medical issues

Existing Models

• Outpatient:– Family Therapy: Multidimensional Family Therapy,

Functional Family Therapy, SOFT, Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA)

– Individual Therapy: CBT, Motivational Interviewing/Motivational Enhancement Therapy (+/-CBT), Contingency Management

– Group Treatments: 12 step, CBT

• Inpatient• Residential “Rehab”• Integrated outpatient treatments for co-occurring

disorders: ENCOMPASS• Non evidence based practices

Components of Comprehensive Drug Abuse Treatment (NIDA, 2014)

Co-Occuring Disorders: Outpatient Treatment

• Psychiatric and substance use focused diagnostic evaluation

• Youth report, caregiver report

• Pharmacologic Intervention

• Individual CBT: 16 weeks

• Motivational Enhancement Program

• Family/Parent Therapy

Evaluation

• Diagnostic Evaluations (2-3 hours)

– Standardized Measures and Evaluation for SUDs and Mental Health Comorbidities

• E.g. Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS)

• High risk sexual behaviors

• Baseline psychiatric ratings: MASC, CDRS, ADHD-RS

• Timeline Follow Back for Drug Use

• Urine Drug Screens

Treatment

• Medication Management

– Comorbidities

• Depression and Anxiety have clear pharmacologic targets

• ADHD: Stimulants (controversial), Bupropion

– SUDs

• Small literature for use in adolescents but wealth of adult research in treatment for SUDs

Medication Treatments for Substance Use Disorders

• Replacement

– Opiates

• Suboxone

• Methadone

– Nicotine

• Aversive (rarely used)

– Alcohol

• Disulfiram

• Others

– Nicotine

• Varenicline, Bupropion

– Opiates

• Naltrexone

– Alcohol

• Acamprosate

• Naltrexone

ENCOMPASS

• 13 weeks of individual CBT + 3 sessions with family/supports

• Week 1: Personal rulers, Supportive People, Functional Analysis of Pro-

Social Activities

• Week 2: Personal Feedback, Goal Setting, Happiness Scale

• Week 3 Exploring Use: Functional Analysis of Drug Use behavior,

Expectation of Effects, Consequences of Use

• Other 13 Modules:

• Coping with cravings• Communication • Managing anger• Negative moods• Problem solving• Refusal skills• Support systems• School & employment

• Coping with a slip• Seemingly irrelevant

decisions• HIV prevention• Saying goodbye• Bringing in the family

(3 sessions)

Contingency Management

• Strong data to support decrease in drug use in adults and adolescents

• Not a psychotherapy, can be used by parents alone

• “Prize draws” for session attendance, negative UDS, and pro-social activities (adolescent modifier)

• Bonus prizes for sustained or early abstinence

FAMILY THERAPY IS A KEY INGREDIENT OF NEARLY ALL

ADOLESCENT ADDICTION TREATMENT PROGRAMS

Goals of family/parenting interventions

• Parent training

• Improve Family Functioning

• Reduce/Eliminate Substance Use

• Increase Problem Solving Skills

• Develop (Nurture Existing) Future Orientation

• Address Ecology of the Problem

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Learning Objectives

1. Describe how to diagnose adolescents with substance use disorders.

2. Understand which evidence based models have been developed for adolescents.

3. Explain how treatment can be delivered via telemedicine.

References

• American Psychiatric Association. Task Force on DSM-IV. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR, 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.

• Cohen E. Mackenzie RG. Yates GL. HEADSS, a psychosocial risk assessment instrument: implications for designing effective intervention programs for runaway youth. Journal of Adolescent Health. 12(7):539-44, 1991 Nov.

• Epstein J., Barker, P., Vorburger, M., & Murtha, C. (2004). Serious mental illness and its co-occurrence with substance use disorders, 2002 (DHHS Publication No. SMA 04-3905, Analytic Series A-24). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies.

• Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services. Elster, AB. Kuznets NJ., Williams and Wilkins: Baltimore, 1994.

• Gee RL. Espiritu RC. Huang LN., Adolescents with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in primary care. Adolescent Medicine Clinics. 17(2):427-52, 2006 Jun.

• Hassan A. Harris SK. et al. Primary care follow-up plans for adolescents with substance use problems. Pediatrics. 124(1):144-50, 2009 Jul.

• Johnston L, O’Malley PM, Bachman JG, et al. Monitoring the Future. National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings, 2009. (NIH Publication No. 10-7583) Bethesda, Maryland: National Institutes on Drug Abuse; 2009.

References (2)

• Knight JR. Shrier LA. Et al. A new brief screen for adolescent substance abuse. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 153(6):591-6, 1999 Jun.

• Knight JR. Goodman E. Pulerwitz T. DuRant RH. Reliabilities of short substance abuse screening tests among adolescent medical patients. Pediatrics. 105(4 Pt 2):948-53, 2000 Apr.

• Knight JR. Goodman E. Pulerwitz T. DuRant RH. Reliability of the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) in adolescent medical practice. Journal of Adolescent Health. 29(2):125-30, 2001 Aug.

• Knight JR. Sherritt L. Shrier LA. Harris SK. Chang G. Validity of the CRAFFT substance abuse screening test among adolescent clinic patients. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 156(6):607-14, 2002 Jun.

• Knight JR. Sherritt L. Harris SK. Gates EC. Chang G. Validity of brief alcohol screening tests among adolescents: a comparison of the AUDIT, POSIT, CAGE, and CRAFFT. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. 27(1):67-73, 2003 Jan.

• Latimer, W.W., Winters, K.C., Stinchfield, R.D. Screening for Drug Abuse Among Adolescents in Clinical and Correctional Settings Using the Problem-Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 23(1), 79-98, (1997).

• Levy S. Sherritt L. et al. Test-retest reliability of adolescents' self-report of substance use. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. 28(8):1236-41, 2004 Aug.

References (3)

• Merikangas, KR, He J, et al., Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in U.S. Adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), JAACAP, 49(10):980-989 Oct 2010

• Regier DA. Farmer ME. Rae DS. Locke BZ. Keith SJ. Judd LL. Goodwin FK., Comorbidity of mental disorders with alcohol and other drug abuse. Results from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Study. JAMA. 264(19):2511-8, 1990 Nov 21

• Reif, CJ, Elster, AB, Adolescent Preventive Services. In Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, Vol 25, No 1, March 1998, WB Saunders, Philadelphia.

• Shrier LA. Harris SK. Kurland M. Knight JR. Substance use problems and associated psychiatric symptoms among adolescents in primary care. Pediatrics. 111(6 Pt 1):e699-705, 2003 Jun.

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009). Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434). Rockville, MD.